They include one Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P3 Orion, a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P3 Orion, one Japanese P3 Orion, a Japan Coast Guard Gulfstream jet, a Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force Ilyushin IL-76, a Republic of Korea P3 Orion, a United States Navy P8 Poseidon, two Royal Malaysian Air Force C-130 Hercules and one civil jet acting as a communications relay.

In addition, a total of 10 ships have also been tasked with Monday's search. This includes HMAS Success and HMAS Toowoomba, seven Chinese ships and a merchant vessel.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said in its latest update that some parts of the search area will experience low cloud and rain throughout the day.

AMSA also confirmed that the Australian Defence vessel Ocean Shield is scheduled to depart from Perth Monday. It is now fitted with a black box detector and an autonomous underwater vehicle.

Meanwhile, a new group of relatives of Chinese passengers on MH370 arrived in Malaysia from Beijing on Sunday, demanding more definite answers from the Malaysian side on the disappearance of the jet.

Jiang Hui, representing the relatives, said at a press conference that the families have three requirements.

Firstly, they hope the Malaysian side could release all data in a timely way, he said.

Secondly, they ask the Malaysia Airlines and the Malaysian government to apologize for the confusing information released in the first week after Flight MH370 went missing, and for the delay in the search and rescue operations, he said.

Thirdly, they demand an apology from the Malaysia Airlines and the Malaysian government for hastily drawing a conclusion that the plane had "ended" in the Indian Ocean, with little proof at hand, said Jiang.

He said the families also call for a meeting with aircraft manufacturers and service providers such as Boeing and Rolls-Royce.

"We want the evidence, we want the truth, we want our families," said Jiang, stressing that they hope the Malaysian side could communicate with them with more sincerity.

The Malaysian government promised Sunday to give detailed information to the relatives of Chinese passengers aboard the jetliner.

Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Huang Huikang and head of the Chinese government joint working group Guo Shaochun conveyed the Malaysian pledge when they met with 29 relatives upon their arrival in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.

The Malaysia Airlines said Sunday in a media statement that it will send family members to Perth of Australia, where the current international search team is based, once it has been authoritatively confirmed that the physical wreckage of MH370 is found.

David Johnston, Australia's defense minister, said there are 100 people in the air and 1,000 at sea scouring the new search area in the southern Indian Ocean.

Morale is high, Abbott told reporters, adding that the magnitude of the search "is increasing, not decreasing."

The whereabouts of the missing Boeing 777 jet remain unknown despite the massive multinational search that has been under way since the plane mysteriously disappeared early March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

"The accumulation of evidence is that the aircraft has been lost and it has been lost somewhere in the south of the Indian Ocean," Abbott told reporters at the Perth military base, echoing his Malaysian counterpart's view that the plane ended in the sea.

PERTH, Australia, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Australian vessel Toowoomba has entered the target area for search of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, maritime authorities said Monday.

The ship is one of the 10 vessels tasked with hunting for the ill-fated Boeing 777 jetliner on Monday in a patch of the southern Indian Ocean about 2,060 kilometers west of Perth, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). Full story

CANBERRA, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Monday's search and recovery operation in the Australian Search and Rescue Region for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is scheduled to commence about 9am AEDT this morning, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said in its latest update. Full story

CANBERRA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Vessels scouring the southern Indian Ocean for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have managed to retrieve objects from the water for the first time, but they could not be confirmed as aircraft debris, said Australian rescue authorities Sunday as the search was stepped up. Full story